Our task for this project was to plan out and create a Rube Goldberg machine. A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine that is designed to perform a simple task in an indirect or super complicated way. Linked in a somewhat domino effect, these machines have many simple devices all triggering each other.
A Drawing of our Machine
Steps
“Mom, I’m still hungry. Can I have more cereal please?” Once this child moves their bowl, they will start the machine.
The bowl will knock over the pop can that the child was drinking with breakfast. This pop can will then roll down a ramp.
At the bottom of the ramp, a selection of blocks will be lined up. Once this pop-can reaches the bottom, it will start a domino effect knocking the blocks down.
The last block will land on one side of a lever. Since this block is the load, the other side of the lever will rise to roll the ball down the lever and pushing the block off the end. This block will then fall into the pulley system bucket.
Once this block is in the bucket, the bucket will lower ultimately moving the container that is blocking the wind-up toy car.
The wind-up car will hit the red funnel that is keeping a marble in place.
This marble will roll down the ramp, fall into the red ramp and then fall again into the basket.
Once the ball is in the basket, the fan will power on.
The fan will blow cereal that has been placed on the inclined plane up and into the bowl that Kelsey will grab from the starting point.
Our Video
Our Descriptions
Mechanical to Gravitational Energy Transformation: When the child moved their bowl asking for more cereal, they started the machine. What this child didn’t know was that when the initial contact with the pop can be made, mechanical energy transformed into gravitational energy as the pop can roll down the ramp.
Gravitational to Electrical to Thermal Energy Transformation: The movement of the marble was the starting point in this transformation. From the gravitational energy of the marble, this energy was transformed into electrical energy, demonstrated when the fan turned on. From there, electrical energy transformed into thermal energy when the air flow from the fan could be felt.
Elastic to Mechanical Energy Transformation: The wind-up toy car has stored elastic energy due to the application of force from the container. Even though we previously winded up the car, the force from the container stopped the car from moving. When the container was removed the car’s stored up energy is transformed into mechanical energy as it moves from one place to another.
Electrical Energy: When the fan turned on, it used electrical energy because there was a flow of electrons through the outlet through the wire, to the fan.
Thermal Energy: Once the fan was on, the thermal energy could be felt through the flow of air. This air got cooler due to the vibration of atoms and molecules in the air.
Gravitational Energy: The pop can have gravitational energy because of its position of height on the kitchen counter.
Mechanical Energy: There are many objects in our machine that use mechanical energy. The reason for this type of energy is because of the movement of an object from one place to another.
Elastic Energy: The wind-up toy car has stored up elastic energy from when someone pulls it back. This energy is not released until the container is moved out of the path and the car can move forward.
What questions did you need to research in order to research your topic?
At the start of my project, I tried to think of small questions that I would need to answer before I could get to a conclusion for my topic. First, I thought of what are the differences in conditions between Earth and Mars. As Mars is another planet and we have never been there before, I was nervous about how much information I would be able to find. However, I was able to find a lot of cites and articles comparing the two. Another thing I realized later on in the project was it was hard to find stuff theorizing on how humans would adapt to Mars.
What new or familiar digital tools did you try to use as you worked through this project?
One of the more familiar digital tools that I try to use when I worked through this project was CiteMe. This way I could check if what I was looking at was good and trustworthy. As on the internet, there is a lot of information that is just placed by anyone. Even though this digital tool is not completely new, I have only used it a few times. I started my research with Gale Learning website that I learned about last year. There it was easy to know that all of the sources are already cite and trustworthy.
What was the process you used to investigate the topic?
The process I used to investigate my topic was by coming up with more narrow downed questions about my topic. After I would take these questions and research/google them. If I wasn’t finding any information, I would slightly change in hope to find info about it. I would also build upon and adapt my questions far through the project.
How did you verify and cite the information you found?
The sources that I used from the Gale Learning website are already cited and verify before they were placed on the website so I didn’t need to worry about those sources. However, for the ones that I didn’t use from the Gale Learning website, I use CiteMe to cite them. I also choose websites that were specially for students or teachers such as Nasa.
How did the process of completing this challenge go? What could you have done better?
The process of completing this project went pretty smoothly until the end. However, there was a moment where I lost all of my research from Gale Learning that I saved in a folder. No matter what I did, I was not able to retrieve the sources. So to overcome that I continued to look for more other sources. One thing that I could have done better would be to make sure all of my research is saved before I close my laptop.
If we were to live on Mars, how would the different conditions affect the human body over time, and would one-day humans be considered a different species?
I have always had an interest in the side of astronomy that includes humans and us being able to explore other planets. Which lead me to wonder, how we react to other planets/space’s harsh conditions? If we were to one day live on Mars how would the people who colonize the planet change over time? What are the differences in conditions on Mars to Earth? Could this affect a human body over a lifetime or would it take generations? What makes a different species to a different race? Therefore my overall Wonder Question is; I wonder if we were to live on Mars, how would the different conditions affect the human body over time, and would one-day humans be considered a different species?
MARS. In our solar system, it is the fourth planet from the sun and it is the following planet beyond Earth. Also known as the Red Planet because of its red colour from the iron oxide (similar to rust) in the soil. From the sun, this planet is more than 142 million miles away. Mars is smaller than Earth, as it is around one-sixth of its size. Mars also resembles Earth by having a moon, but differently, it has two moons. Clouds and wind are also present on the red planet.
What are the differences in conditions on Mars to Earth?
One appearance difference is that Mars’ surface is mostly covered in rest dust and is rocky with lots of craters, volcanoes, canyons and places that could have been great lakes in the past. Even though there isn’t liquid water on the surface of Mars, only a few feet below there are large clean sheets of ice. Some of these ice sheets are more than 300 feet thick.
Another difference in the conditions is the temperature. Mars is quite a bit colder than Earth because of the thinner atmosphere (as well as lack of an ozone layer) and the greater distances from the sun. According to the Nasa’s fact sheet, Mars’ atmosphere is;
Carbon dioxide: 95.32 percent
Nitrogen: 2.7 percent
Argon: 1.6 percent
Oxygen: 0.13 percent
Carbon monoxide: 0.08 percent
Also, minor amounts of water, nitrogen oxide, neon, hydrogen-deuterium-oxygen, krypton and xenon
The temperature on Earth varies to place to place but the average temperature on Earth is 0.87 °C. However, Mars’ average temperature is minus 60 °C and can range from minus 126 °C in the winter season closer to the poles, to 20 °C during the summer season near the equator.
Similar to Earth, the red planet does have season caused by the planet’s tilt on its axis, but the difference is it also has a second seasonal effect. Mars has this because of its high elliptical orbit. The days on Mars are a bit longer than 24 hours. A year on the planet is around 1.88 years on Earth.
Gravity. One of the biggest differences between the two planets. As Mars’ surface gravity is only 38% of Earth. Someone who was to weigh 100 pounds on Earth would only weigh around 37 pounds on Mars because of the gravity. As well as having a weaker gravitational pull than Earth, it has more harmful radiation that causes more cancer.
While Mars has harm conditions that can seem very drastic compared to Earth. There are places on Earth such as the Dry Valleys of Antarctica that also has an extremely hostile environment. These valleys are very dry and cold. However, recently there was a species of Beauveria Bassiana that was found in these valleys. Beauveria Bassiana’s living conditions are similar to those on Mars. So researchers believe that there might be a possibility that life might exist on Mars too.
How would these conditions affect a human body over time or in someone’s lifetime?
Even just the process of travelling to the red planet is going to a toll on the bodies of the people. Research has already shown that even astronauts who spend short periods in space with zero gravity have a fast list of alterations to their bodies. Zero gravity and a smaller amounts of gravity will weaken the bones, muscles of a body and changes the circulation of the body. Less gravity can also expand the space in between your vertebrae, making the person taller in height.
There could also have physiological effects that range from muscle atrophy to osteoporosis, effects on the balance and cardiovascular system. As the human bodies adjust to the lower level of gravity it would make it impossible to live under the Earth’s conditions if they were to return.
‘Superoxides’ are present in the ultraviolet radiation in the soil are hard to predict how there would do to the human body. Depending on how much time the colonists spend outside the habitation, they will be exposed to 22 mSv per year.
There could be two ways that humans adapt to the harm conditions of Mars:
The first way we could adapt is we could become weaker versions of our current bodies (shorter lifespans, health problems). One example if our skulls were to get smaller, we could have a neurological disorder. If we were to adapt in this way, it wouldn’t be long it until it would be more of a death sentence to live on Mars.
However, if we wanted to survive for longer. We would have to have the opposite changes. Becoming stronger, and taller versions of our current selves. Some scientist think we would could also develop orange skin. As the food we would need to eat that fights and protects harmful UV radiation on Mars; it could cause us to turn that colour from the protective carotene. The carotene found in these foods are also a good defense against the cancer that could be caused by the radiation on Mars.
On Mars, the high levels of the radiation on the surface could mutate our DNA at a quicker pace. Our species takes a few hundred of thousand of years to evolve on Earth. But there might be a higher mutation rate that could cause a new human species (10x faster than on Earth)
What makes a different species to a different race? Could a person living on Mars one day be considered a different species?
A species is a group of individuals that could interbreed in nature. This means a species is the biggest gene pool that is possible under the natural conditions of the world. For example, humans can look different, but as we can all interbreed. Therefore we are all the same species. This answers the question could a person living on Mars be one-day a different species. Scientists believe that depending on how long people are living on Mars, it will be impossible to have a child with someone from Earth and Mars.
In Conclusion
The conditions of Mars do not make sense to live and colonize this planet. As even on Earth there are some places (with extreme conditions) that we have science bases on with scientists living to study but won’t have normal people living there. It is also quite expensive to have a mission to Mars.
This is the video that my group created on the topic of genetic engineering. There is a document below with all of the sources we used for this project.
Even though, most people have a general idea that with the current years our forests are in danger. However, I believe that we don’t understand the drastic effects are happening. This leads me to choosing my data about the topic of deforestation over the years. After looking at some different sites the OurWorlinData was very helpful to gather my information (this is the site’s hyperlink: https://ourworldindata.org/forests)
My Raw Data:
In the raw data, there were two types of forest tropical forests and temperate forest shown. However, I decided only to take the data for the temperate forests to simplify to the infographic. My main reasoning behind creating this data visualization in an infographic way was to ultimately simplify the information and choose only one set of the data provided. I also wanted to include some art into the infographics as I enjoy to draw and be creative. Also, younger people tend to be able to understand info if there are pictures included (such as little kids with picture books). Another reason that the scale is made in a picture. I believe that when the reader is looking a the poster, they would clearly see the drastic decrease of forest throughout the years.
After I had finished the infographic, I wanted to add something else to add to the point on how important it is to see the huge difference in our forests. I was shocked by the facts on deforestation and then I decided to write them in the extra space.
